Lever Time Why Is The FBI Buying Your Location Data? (With Sen. Ron Wyden And Sean Vitka)
Mar 26, 2026
Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress, fights warrantless surveillance. Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator from Oregon, pushes limits on government spying. They discuss the FBI buying Americans’ location data. They unpack FISA Section 702 origins, documented abuses, the politics of reauthorization, and how AI and data brokers could widen warrantless surveillance.
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Section 702 Enables Backdoor Searches Of Americans
- Section 702 of FISA allows warrantless surveillance of foreign targets and has been used for backdoor searches that swept in Americans' communications.
- The FISA court found almost 300,000 FBI misuses between 2016 and 2020, showing systemic abuse of 702 authorities.
FBI Purchases Location Data Without Warrants
- Sen. Ron Wyden exposed the FBI buys Americans' location data from data brokers without warrants, confirming a major surveillance loophole.
- Wyden warned location data reveals intimate details like where people sleep, doctors they see, and places of worship, enabling serious harm when abused.
Warrant Requirement Protects Americans From Reverse Targeting
- Wyden argues Fourth Amendment checks matter and that FISA was designed to target foreigners overseas, not to sweep up Americans without warrants.
- He supports emergency exceptions but insists routine warrantless access risks journalists, relatives, and reverse targeting of Americans.